


Lost in Translation

by jessi_08



Category: Women's Hockey RPF
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-05
Updated: 2017-12-05
Packaged: 2019-02-10 21:27:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,538
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12920592
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jessi_08/pseuds/jessi_08
Summary: Hilary knew going into her relationship with Marie-Philip would come with some language barriers. Will they get better as the years go on though?





	Lost in Translation

It started simple, with tinsel. 

Hilary had known there would almost always be a slight language barrier between her and Marie-Philip. French was Marie’s first language and her English could only develop so fast as she took classes and played for Boston and Canada. Hilary couldn't blame her for missing a word here or there. 

“You know what this needs?” Hilary asked as they lounged on her couch, staring at the newly decorated Christmas tree. 

“Hmm?” Marie asked, soaking in the comfort of Hilary running a hand through her hair. 

“Tinsel.” Marie looked up at Hilary, confusion written all over her face.

“What?” She asked, causing Hilary to smile. Marie always had a near perfect American accent when saying certain words, especially 'what’, and Hilary couldn't help but be charged by it. Hilary leaned down, kissing Marie slowly before leaning back into the couch. 

“Tinsel is this stuff you hang on the tree... like glitter,” Hilary explained, trailing her hand up and down Marie's arm.

“Tree glitter? Won't that make a mess?” 

“Well no, it's a string of sorts.” Hilary's eyebrows furrowed as the words to describe tinsel escaped her. 

“A string?” Marie pondered for a moment. “Like the lights?” 

“Not really?” Hilary sighed. “Oh! I'll call Chuey!” she exclaimed, jostling Marie a little too much for her liking. 

“Hey Hilary,” Julie answered, practically on the first ring. 

“Jules, can you ask Caro what the French word for tinsel is?”

“Why do you need to know?” Julie asked and Hilary could hear the lilt in her tone. 

“I'm trying to describe it to a Frenchy.” Marie pinched her arm at the use of the word Frenchy, Hilary kissed her quickly as an apology. 

“Would this ‘frenchy’ be Marie-Philip?”

“You know, you could try to hide your amusement a bit more, Chuey,” Hilary deadpanned.

“Where's the fun in that though?”

“Please... just ask her.” Hilary sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose. 

“Honey, how do you say tinsel?”

“Is that Hilary? Is she really dating my Marie?! Put her on the phone.”

“Chuey, don't you dar—” 

“What are you doing to my little Marie?” 

“Nothing she doesn't like,” Hilary quickly defended and Marie pinched her again.

“Marie, chérie, es-tu un otage?” Caroline asked quickly and Marie stifled a laugh. (Darling, are you a hostage?)

“Wait! What'd she just ask?” Hilary said as Julie laughed. 

“Oui capitaine, mais elle prend bien soin de moi,” Marie replied, earning more laughs out of Julie. (Yes captain, but she takes good care of me.)

“Chuey, help me here!” Hilary plead.

“Babe, tinsel? Help the couple out?” Caroline must've shot one hell of a look Julie's way. “Hey, how often did we have to make a call and get a translator in fights?”

“Marie, ‘tinsel’ est un décoration d’arbre de Nöel. C’est guirlande scintillante.” ( Marie, 'tinsel' is a Christmas tree decoration. It's glittering garland. )

“Oh! Oui,  bien sûr .” (yes, of course)

“Julie... was that tinsel?” Hilary asked,  confused, “I think I heard ‘decoration’ in there, which is sorta what it is.” 

“Yes Knighter, that was tinsel.”

“Thanks, Caro.” Hilary hung up before looking at Marie. “So, tinsel?”

“No.” Marie smiled, shaking her head.

x-x-x

Then, it got harder.

Hilary stared blankly at Marie, she had no clue what the other woman was trying to say.

“Rennes!” she practically yelled, putting her hands up to her head like moose antlers, “rennes!” 

“Moose?”

“No!” Marie’s face was growing a deeper red with every passing moment of deep frustration. 

“Are you sure?” Hilary put her hands up to mimic Marie’s. “This, is moose. Moose are like these…” Hilary trailed off as Marie shot her a deadly glare.

“I know what  élans are, Knight.”

“Moose?” Hilary asked, earning a small smile from Marie. She walked over to Hilary, crashing into her front. Hilary wrapped her arms tightly around Marie, kissing the top of her head. 

“I know, I know this word,” Marie pouted.

“It’ll come to you.” Hilary walked them backwards to the couch till they sat down on it. Marie tucked herself into Hilary’s chest, trying to let the frustration melt away. She felt it rolling back as Hilary’s phone rang. 

“That’s Chu….” Marie dug into Hilary’s pocket extracting the phone from its depths before putting it on speaker. “Hey, Jules.”

“Knighter, your mom’s recipe for vegan veggie stock, do you have it?”

“I’ll send it over.” 

“Thank you.” Julie sighed in relief. 

“Hey Jules, what’s ‘renne’?” 

“Um… let me ask, I think I’ve got it but I’m not positive.” They could hear Julie walking around.

“Well... it’s not moose,” Hilary muttered.

“No, that’s ‘élan’,” Julie replied and Hilary gave a heaving sigh. “Yes, everyone but you knew that.”

“Shut it or no stock!”

“Hey, love,” Julie’s voice was muffled slightly through the phone. “What’s renne?” 

“Let me speak to Marie.” 

“Hil?”

“We’re on speaker,” Hilary replied, running the back of her finger down Marie’s cheek.

“Chéri, tout va bien?” (Darling, is everything ok?)

“ C'est le temps de l'examen ... mon cerveau me fait mal.” (It’s exam time… my brain hurts)

“Chérie, tu as besoin prends soin de toi.” (Honey, you need to take care of yourself)

“Je sais. Je suis.” (I know. I am.)

“Ça sonne certainement pas comme ça.” (Sure does not sound like it.)

“Caro, j'essaie.” (Caro, I’m trying.)

“Es-tu rentrer à la maison pour les fêtes?” (Are you coming home for the holidays?)

Marie looked up at Hilary sadly; she hadn't told Hilary her plants to head home for a week. She wasn’t sure if Hilary was even going to head home or if the woman had decided to stay in Boston. 

“Oui.”

“Viens me voir, ce serait bien de rattraper.” (Stop by, it’d be nice to catch up.)

“D'accord,” Marie said, watching Hilary study her face.

“It’s reindeer, Hils.”

“Moose is close!” Hilary exclaimed, earning laughter from the three other women.

“No, moose is not close.” Caro chuckled.

“She put her hands up on her head like antlers, like a moose!” Marie pinched Hilary’s arms.

“Or a deer,” Caro defended Marie.

“You got pics, right? Ow!” she exclaimed and the younger couple were left to assume that Caroline had just pinched Julie as Marie had Hilary.

“Hey Caro, don’t abuse my captain!” 

“Don’t threaten mine,” Marie warned lightly. 

“Don’t fight! We can’t be responsible for that,” Julie joked. 

“We aren’t,” Marie replied, kissing Hilary.

“Marie, tu devrais lui parler,” Caro said and Marie narrowed her eyes at the phone.

“Oui, je sais. ”

“Enjoy your evening you two,” Caro said hanging up. 

“Reindeer?” Hilary asked.

“Oui, renne.” 

Hilary smiled, pinning Marie to the couch under her. “This makes you so Canadian, wanting reindeer as a kid more than a puppy.”

“I did not want un renne!” Hilary kissed Marie again, pushing her shirt up, “Je suis Canadienne. I wanted a caribou.

“I’m sure we could go find a petting zoo—” She said as she kissed up Marie’s neck.

“Shut up, Knight.”

x-x-x

Then Marie used it to her advantage.

Hilary sighed, Marie holding her close.

“Are you sure you want to go with me?”

“Oui,” Marie replied, kissing Hilary’s shoulder.

“My brothers are crazy.” 

“Et  tu n’es pas?” (And you’re not?)

“I’m not, thank you very much.” Hilary said, Marie smirking into her shoulder. Over the last few years, Hilary had picked up a lot of terms that Marie would mutter under her breath at her. Marie, however, was doing leaps and bounds better at picking up English compared to Hilary picking up French. Hilary rolled over pinning Marie under her. She leaned down and kissed her.

“You’re gorgeous. Like an angel escaped from heaven.”

“What?” Marie asked and Hilary’s face fell.

“Heaven… you know the place—”

“I know ‘heaven’, Hilary.”

“Oh... ‘angel’?”

“Oui.”

“The people with the wings?” 

Marie continued to look confused. 

“Babe, I’ve called you angel before.”

Marie shook her head. “I don’t recall.”

“The thing on the top of Christmas trees.”

“A star?”

“No…” Hilary groaned, falling back on the bed. She reached over and grabbed her phone.

“Knight, if you wake that baby I will kill you,” Julie growled from the speaker and Hilary sighed.

“Is Caro around?”

“What is it this time?” Julie asked and Hilary knew she was already on speaker.

“Angel.” Suddenly Caro and Julie were laughing, uncontrollably.

“Bravo  chéri, elle ne soupçonne même pas, n'est-ce pas?.” (Bravo darling,  she doesn’t suspect a thing, does she?)

“What?” Hilary asked, narrowing her eyes at Marie who was failing at fighting her own laughter.

“Hils, angel is ‘ange’. She also would know that from years of it being on the top of our own tree and hearing it here,” Caro explained. 

“Oh… well, if you’ll excuse me for a moment,” Hilary said, turning towards her girlfriend. 

Marie bolted from the bed, Hilary hot on her heels. Hilary quickly caught up to Marie, who screamed between giggles as Hilary wrapped her arms around her, pulling her close.

“Hils, I’m sorry?” Marie tried but Hilary wasn’t having it. 

“Sorry isn’t going to cut it this time.” Hilary grinned. 

Marie thought for a moment before leaning up and kissing Hilary. “Je t'aime, mon doux ange anglais,” Marie whispered, her lips ghosting against Hilary’s.

“I love you too, my sweet french angel.” 

**Author's Note:**

> French is not a language on my abilities to speak... I struggle with English and that's the only language I speak so... Please forgive any mistakes. I do have to give a shoutout to my wonderful betas for putting up with me on this one for the last day or so since it's all I did. Thank you guys so much. I hope the rest of you enjoy this one!


End file.
